Strategic Account Management (SAM)

Preface

The purpose of this document is to present Strategic Account Management (SAM) issues and performance improvement elements that have been described to us by corporate firms throughout the world. These firms are selling a range of products, services and solutions to other corporate clients, but they have had difficulty creating effective sales teams to build strategic relationships, and sell integrated solutions.

The document provides a framework for discussions with executives, with the goal of creating a prioritized list of outcomes and expectations for enhancing strategic account relationships, revenues and profit margins. These discussions will give you the information you require to create the kind of profitable growth in strategic accounts that has been achieved by our clients.

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Breadth of business issues

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Vendor

Preferred Supplier

Solution Provider

Trusted Partner

Potential for deepening existi

ng relationship

Source: Adapted from The Trusted Advisor

Tactical Strategic

Strategic Business Advisor

WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CLIENTS?

Background

Target: One Service/Product

Strategic: Two+ Services/Products

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Named Accounts

StrategicAccounts

Small/Medium Business (Clusters)

The Goal: Move Strategic Clients From “One-Service/Product” to “Many-Services/Products”

Present State: The Key Issues

High Level Issues We’ve Encountered:• Strategic Accounts are easier to sell to because you have already

established a trust factor with them. Trust is mandatory for any B2B sale.

• There is a need and opportunity to really grow your strategic accounts, to build on your trust & success, and to provide exceptional integrated solutions.

• A need to build more strategic relationships at senior executive levels• Team Leadership needs Coaching and Strengthening.• What’s really going on in each account? Where are the opportunities?

• Need to raise Motivation to the Next Level: Objectives, Metrics and

Recognition/Rewards.• Need Regular Planning Agendas: More Strategic, fill the Funnels.• More Account Team Members to make client calls.

Future Vision

What your client relationship will look like in the near future

Future Vision for Your Client Team

A strategic relationship exists with the client and you provide a wide range of services to them. Their senior client executives consult with you prior to all key initiatives.You are a “trusted business advisor” to your client, and their executives periodically join your client team meetings to discuss their issues and future plans.Your client team has “heads up” enthusiastic participation from your staff who represent a wide range of potential services/products to your client. There is full attendance at all team meetings.Revenue growth from this client is accelerating at a pace much faster than your average client revenue growth and profit contribution is above average.

Benefits of Strong Strategic Client Teams

Some of the outcomes…….

Stabilized trusting relationships mean lower cost of sales, faster revenue growth and increased account profitability

Effective strategic account teams provide significant upside from new opportunities. Some of these opportunities can be identified by looking at unexploited opportunities, and by issue articulation and decomposition techniques described later in this presentation.

Strategic Relationships and Trusted Advisor status can be achieved using the methods described below. The key benefit is an ability to be “on the inside” learning about opportunities before they are issued as RFP’s and sometimes receiving directed bids.

Moving to the Future State:High Level Initiatives

Early Client Focus

• Some success• Limited Trusted Advisor

Status • Early transformation to

“solutions”

BuildingThe Client Focused

Infrastructure

• Trained Team Management

• Enhanced Team Leadership

• Implement New support systems

• SAM Coordination

High Performance Teams

• Consistent performance

• Friction Free Transactions

• Improved Organic Growth

• Higher Revenues & Profits

Strategic Account Performance

High Performance Team Framework

Some Recommended Initiatives:• Raise Motivation to the Next Level: Clearly define team Objectives,

Metrics and Recognition and Rewards.• Implement Quarterly Team Activity Agendas: Define the weekly/biweekly

agendas, strategy sessions client meetings with the team etc.• Increase the account team coordinator support• Engage more account team members to make client calls. Training and

objectives required• Create and update the Industry and Client Points of View• Update the Relationship Funnels, goals, velocities and influencer

diagrams• Ensure client participation in account team meetings• Create a quarterly External Audit of Team Performance• Expand Selective Coaching

Increasing the Rate of Organic Growth

Relationships Focus on building client trust in your strategic account teams

and your company… need to focus on more than one staff member for each of your client relationships

Develop content to engage your clients with thought leadership, and to help them grow.

Provide more staff training on relationship development. Note: Most team members usually have very little relationship training.

Help us to implement ways to understand your firm’s influence and contacts

Add to your internal systems the ability to handle relationship information

Spend more time on business knowledge; industry and client points of view need to be maintained in a current mode

Culture Create more of a “Heads Up” culture. In orientation and

other training sessions, push the concept of each person’s “Value to your Business”. In orientation courses…encourage staff to always think about “what can you do to help the client grow”?

Break down barriers between “silos”. Improve focus…less pressure to chase too many things…

everything that moves syndrome. Engage those involved in delivering your services in meeting

and understanding clients. Stay the course to avoid loss of investment and “flavor of the

week” problems

Transformation Make your measures match your strategic client’s goals

& measures. Performance objectives and measures need to focus on

the client issues Need more support tools and feedback around strategic

account processes and teams Need to incorporate analytics into all decisions.

Performance Improvement Fundamentals/foundation

Know who to go toKnow their objectives and roles

Need a mental shift of staff/cultural fit More emphasis on selling Value Learn and respect your Organization Structure Make it “fun”

Enhance Your Strategic Relationships

Becoming a Strategic Business Advisor Requires Skills in Both Issue Development and Relationship Building

Breadth of business issues

Dep

th o

f bu

sine

ss r

elat

ions

hip

Vendor

Preferred Supplier

Solution Provider

Trusted Partner

Potential for deepening existi

ng relationship

Source: Adapted from The Trusted Advisor

Tactical Strategic

Strategic Business Advisor

But it is a journey with few short cuts to Trusted Advisor

Engage

Single Service Client

Integrated Client Teams

Trusted Advisor Contact Contracted Client

RelationshipManagement

TacticalDevelopment

Marketing

Business Development

Public RelationsReputation Building

The Loyalty Continuum

Multiple Service Client

Developing the Relationship

Strategic Account ManagementIntegration of POVs and Client Relationship Management

The Three Phases in Issue Articulation and Decomposition

Issue articulationSolutiondevelopment

Issue decomposition

1. What is an issue? 2. How do we decompose issues?

3. How do we link decomposed issues to solutions?

Results Achieved

How Do YOU Benefit?

Faster Results - Shorter Payback - Greater ROI Better Results with Greater Certainty of Success Higher Value and Lower Cost Fee Structure – Retainer + can be a percentage of

Revenue Gain

Effective SAM - Key Benefits Achieves sales force integration without

reorganization Creates more cross selling & “integrated”

relationships with more account stability Transforms business from project or campaign based

to an annuity business…..fewer competitions = more profit

“Automatic” staff training on client issues through POV discussions

Revenue & Profits grow more rapidly in effective SAM clients

What We Do and What We Bring!

• We blend our many years of executive sales, marketing and business leadership experience with world acclaimed academic research to guide and mentor our clients through a discovery and change process that achieves effective execution with measurable results.

• To do it we bring:– Frameworks– Processes– Templates– Training– Coaching– Market Research– Sample Metrics

Lessons Learned

Strategy• Walk the talk• Business case with cost

and benefits• Goals and

accountabilities

People• Compensation/measures

aligned with strategy • Defined selection criteria • Clarify consequences of

undesirable behaviour

Technology• Integrated CRM• Analytical tools• Total Team Commitment

Process• Overcome resistance to

change• Discipline in execution• Dedicated and

accountable resources

Requirements for Success

Strategic Account Management (SAM)

Please direct any Questions/Inquiries to Ian Dainty at

ian@maximizebusinessmarketing.com